pitchWinPLAY Competition!

GAMESCRIBE ANNOUNCES TEAM UP WITH DEVELOPER RENEGADE KID IN LAUNCHING AN EXCITING NEW GAME PITCH COMPETITION: PITCH.WIN.PLAY!

Pitch your game idea. Win the competition. Play your game!

GAMEscribe, LLC announces the launch of the very first pitchWinPLAY competition!  Starting on March 25th, 2012, they will begin accepting video game pitches for a new side scrolling platformer to be developed by Renegade Kid through the official website www.pitchwinplay.com.

"We are very excited to be bringing this opportunity to creative gamers everywhere, to those who have ever had the dream to see their ideas come to life but just never had the means to make it happen." says John F. Kaiser III, founder of GAMEscribe, LLC.

To make this happen GAMEscribe has partnered up with award winning developer Renegade Kid, creators of the award winning Dementium series, cult racing hit ATV Wild Ride and critically acclaimed Mutant Mudds, to develop the winning entry into a video game for the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

"This is a very unique and exciting opportunity for everyone. To think that someone out there will submit the winning pitch and actually be able to play their game is quite magical." raves Jools Watsham, co-founder and creative director of Renegade Kid.

Game industry professionals will judge entries based on their Originality, Marketability, Feasibility and Communication.  Entrants will be narrowed down to the top 10 Semi-Finalist which will then be sent on to guest judges to help rank the top 3 choices.  Grand Prize is to have their pitch become reality!  See official website for complete list of prizes.

* Conditions and restrictions apply.  See www.pitchwinplay.com/rules for details.

About GAMEscribe

GAMEscribe, LLC was formed in 2011 by John F. Kaiser III with the goal of giving a means to gamers who have all these ideas for games running around in their head but no means to make them a reality.  This is now achieved through the pitchWinPLAY competitions.

About Renegade Kid

Founded in 2007 by Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove, Renegade Kid LLC is an independent video-game development studio based in Austin, Texas. Best known for their award winning Dementium™ series and the critically-acclaimed Mutant Mudds™, Renegade Kid has embraced Nintendo's new Nintendo 3DS handheld with the development of Majesco's Face Racers: Photo Finish, UTV Ignition'sPlanet Crashers, and "Cult racing hit", ATV Wild Ride 3D.

GAMEscribe
contact@pitchwinplay.com

Renegade Kid
info@renegadekid.com

PAX East, IDEAME, E3, and much, much more!

“Publishing games on the 3DS is hard. I give up!”

“Publishing games on the 3DS is hard. I give up!” That’s basically what I am hearing from publishers these days. “Only first-party games are selling on the 3DS,” is what they tell me. Hm, I wonder why that would be. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the quality of the first-party games compared to the third-party games, would it? I doubt it would have anything to do with the marketing and PR efforts put into the games either. No, it must be the fact that first-party games use known brands and have the word Nintendo on them; nothing more. You can bet your bottom dollar that if these games were handled in the same manner as most third-party publishers handle their own games they’d be in the bargain bin in no time.

I think the problem with a lot of publishers these days is the fact that they spend too much time looking into the past instead of looking into the future. It seems like every move a publisher wants to take must be measured by sales numbers of the past. Sure, I get it. It is smart to see what happened in the past. It helps gauge what MIGHT happen in the future. But, it does not dictate or predict what WILL happen in the future. There are so many variables you might have to – god forbid – use your human instincts to make a grown-up decision on your own and not fall back on stale data.

Publishers may think they’re playing it safe by relying heavily on old sales data, but I believe they are forcing themselves into an ever-narrowing funnel towards extinction. Publishers are so scared to make any bold moves it is almost as if they’re paralyzed. I understand that one bold move gone bad could result in bankruptcy. I am not suggesting you put everything on the line every time. That is a sure way to go out of business too. But, at least move forward with some moxie.

There are some simple steps to take in order to produce a successful game. I know these may seem insultingly obvious, because they are! The key is to actually understand them, believe in them, and follow through with the plan.

1. Go after an audience that you know exists!
I think it goes without saying - but I’ll say it anyway - that the larger the audience, the larger potential there is for success. If you’re making a game for a niche audience, then expect a niche return. This is where old sales data can help you determine whether an audience exists in a certain genre and how big it might be. By the way, this does not mean that making another pet simulator is a good idea. There has to be a legitimate reason this proven audience will want your game.

2. Make a good game, and know that it is good!
OK, I know that sounds ridiculous. I feel ridiculous even saying it. But, this is probably the most important - yet underrated - factor in this plan. If you’re about to bet your life’s/company’s savings on this game, you’d better make sure your game is good! Focus test it. Force strangers without an agenda to play it and give you honest feedback. You must KNOW that your game is good before risking anything on it. This is something that Nintendo do so well. They know their top games are good and do not consider them finished until they are. This is the key! Don’t release crap games, especially if you know it is crap. It is also just as insulting to the player if you are unaware of how good/bad your game is. If you don’t care about the quality of your games, please go and sell soap instead.

3. Ensure development budget is relative to assumed return from sales!
Whether you’re going for an eShop game or a PS3 game, don’t overspend on the development of the game. Be smart with how much content you can deliver in regards to the genre, audience, etc. If you spend too much money here, your marketing budget will go down to compensate, and you just lost. Spending less on marketing simply means less people know about your game, which means less people will buy it. This also means that you shouldn’t go cheap, either. Too many publishers want to spend next to zero on development budgets these days, which will produce low quality games. Shocker! You need to be smart with the budget, for sure, but don’t cut the knees off your project before you even start.

4. Invest money and effort into exposing the game: marketing/PR.
I think where many publishers give up is when they see the impressively expensive marketing campaigns that Nintendo put out. Don’t forget that Nintendo earned their ability to run these campaigns. They didn’t do this with their first game. They slowly built up their company piece by piece and added cash to their bank account with smart decisions. So, if you want to dish out fancy ad campaigns, like Nintendo, do what they did. Work hard to gain that ability.

Even if your game is relatively small, and your budget is relatively small, it is vital you get the word out there to your audience as much as possible. If people don’t know your game exists, they can’t buy it. It is possible to get a small but decent ad campaign going on many of the higher-profile gaming websites for a few thousand dollars. You can easily spend $2,000 or $15,000 on a single website, depending on which site you’re talking to. The exposure your game will get will be worth it. It not only exposes the existence of your game, but it also gives the game a sense of importance; important enough for the publisher to market it. If they’re willing to put money into advertising it, then it might be worth checking out. But, be careful. Don’t overspend here either.

Let’s take Mutant Mudds as an example:

1. Go after an audience that you know exists!
Not only is the eShop a captive audience due to the newness of the market, most players who are currently active on there are tech. savvy hardcore players. An old school platformer that delivers an authentic experience should have a good chance with this audience.

2. Make a good game, and know that it is good!
I knew Mutant Mudds was a good game and ready for release. The response we were getting from everyone who played it was great. This helped give me confidence in pushing Mudds out.

3. Ensure development budget is relative to assumed return from sales!
I had no idea what the sales would be on the eShop as it was so new. So, we just made sure the team and budget were as small as possible while maintaining quality. Fortunately, the tiny team was extremely passionate about developing the game, which helped with the limited resources assigned to the project. The dev budget was small.

4. Invest money and effort into exposing the game: marketing/PR.
I researched a lot on the cost of advertising, and honestly it seemed too risky to invest marketing money into an eShop game at this time. Once the eShop market grows it will become more effective to spend money on advertising, but at this stage I think exposure in the press with news, interviews, previews, reviews, and competitions is the way to go. This takes a lot of work, but it is worth every ounce of effort.

In the end, Mutant Mudds is a success. It has met our hopes for sales. It encourages us to make more games for the eShop market. If we had spent more time and/or money on Mutant Mudds we might have a different situation. Likely a worse one. That’s not to say that the eShop can't handle larger scoped games. It will just take some time before the eShop audience is large enough for that, which I believe is just a matter of time.

Please share your thoughts on my write-up, and let me know what you think is the best way to tackle today’s volatile video-game market from your unique perspective.

Mutant Mudds Demo, Bomb Monkey, and more!

3DS or iPhone?

For the purpose of this article:

Serious Gamer = A person who considers gaming their main source of entertainment.

Casual Gamer = A person who considers gaming just one of many sources of entertainment.

Something that I find interesting is people worrying about devices such as iPhones and iPads taking potential customers away from the 3DS or Vita. Who’s to say they were potential customers? Because someone purchases an iPad, does this mean it is a foregone conclusion that they would have bought a dedicated handheld gaming device such as a 3DS or Vita if the iPad did not exist? I don’t think so.

Back in the days of the NES, Master System, SNES, and Genesis/Mega Drive, the majority of the gaming audience were "serious gamers". The minority of the audience were "casual gamers". I think it goes without challenge to say that period of gaming was successful in terms of money being made by most console manufacturers and publishers. Business was booming.

Fast forward to today. There are millions of new players who are considered the gaming audience. The serious gamer is now the minority, and the casual gamer is now the majority. There are more serious gamers than ever before, but there are now out-numbered by casual gamers. Much more money is being made due to the larger audience. But, business is kind of a mess. It certainly is not booming; at least, not for everyone.

Console manufacturers and video-game publishers who can capture the imagination of the casual gamers win. Just look at the success of games like Nintendogs, Farmville, and the recent Call of Duty titles. I know, some of you are thinking I’m insane for lumping Call of Duty into the same category as Nintendogs and Farmville, but please hear me out.

I believe (and you’re welcome to disagree) that the majority of today’s Call of Duty players are dedicated casual gamers. Yeah, I know that sounds counter-intuitive. What I mean by this is that the dedicated casual players of Call of Duty devote their time to one game series. Sure, they might dabble in other titles while they’re gracing us with their presence in the gaming scene, but their main source of gaming entertainment is Call of Duty. They might in fact spend countless hours playing just Call of Duty, pushing other previous sources of entertainment to the side. But, when the day comes that they no longer wish to play Call of Duty, their interest in video-games is put back on an equal footing with the many other sources of entertainment. Whereas a serious gamer would naturally move onto the next game.

You might be saying to yourself, “What does this have to do with ‘3DS or iPhone?’?” That’s a great question. The reason I make the conclusion above is to draw light to the fact that the casual gamer is fickle when it comes to games. There’s nothing wrong with this, unless you bet your business on it.

The serious gaming audience is larger than ever before, but it just isn’t enough for today’s greedy businessmen. They see the larger casual gaming audience alongside the serious gaming audience and they want it all! Good luck with that. I say, target the serious gaming audience. You can count on them. They love games. Games are their main source of entertainment. You know what the irony is? Serious gamers want ‘real’ games. They don’t just want watered-down interactive movies that cost tens of millions to produce where ‘story’ is the focus. Sure, the occassional one is great, but they also want challenge. They want gameplay!

So, yeah it’s easy to say that iPhones and the like are taking customers away from the 3DS and other gaming platforms, but at the end of that day, were these customers really ever interested in gaming beyond a casual flutter? Probably not. Let the touch-control app world that is dominated by inexpensive crumb-flicking simulators have their five minutes of fun and let us get back to serious gaming business.

Nintendo eShop Software Charts (02-04-12)

Mutant Mudds has now moved into the #2 spot in the "Recent Releases" software charts, pushing Pushmo to #3. New entry, Sakura Samurai, explodes onto the charts at #4. I'm sure we'll be seeing Sakura make its way to #2 or #1 very soon.

1. Kirby's Dream Land.
2. Mutant Mudds.
3. Pushmo.
4. Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword.
5. 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure.
6. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.
8. Dr. Mario Express.
9. Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!
10. Art Academy: Frist Semester.
11. Photo Dojo.
12. Zen Pinball 3D.
13. Plants vs. Zombies.
14. Mighty Switch Force.
15. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis Match Again.
16. Bloons TD.
17. VVVVVV.
18. Mario Clock.
19. Metroid II - Return of Samus.
20. Super Mario Land.

Nintendo eShop Software Charts (02-02-12)

One week after the launch of Mutant Mudds, the game sits at #3 in the "Recent Releases" software charts.

1. Kirby's Dream Land.
2. Pushmo.
3. Mutant Mudds.
4. 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure.
5. Dr. Mario Express.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.
7. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.
8. Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!
9. Zen Pinball 3D.
10. Photo Dojo.
11. Plants vs. Zombies.
12. Mighty Switch Force.
13. VVVVVV.
14. Metroid II - Return of Samus.
15. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis Match Again.
16. Mario Clock.
17. Bloons TD.
18. Super Mario Land.
19. Inchworm Animation.
20. Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From The Abyss.

Mutant Mudds - Quick Look - Giant Bomb

Mutant Mudds - Critically Acclaimed!

[View Full Screen]

Mutant Mudds Reviews

Below are some reviews for Mutant Mudds:

9/10 - Nintendo Everything.
"One of the most impressively designed 2D platformers we’ve seen in the last ten years."

5/5 - Fanbolt.
"Hit's the spot in every single aspect."

9/10 - Nintendo Life.
"No platformer fan should miss."

9/10 - Nintendo World Report.
"Awesome and addictive."

8.5/10 - IGN.
"All 3DS owners shouldn’t think twice about adding this download to their collection."

10/10 - Pure Nintendo.
"There are a lot of great eShop games out there but none of them can be said are better than Mutant Mudds."

9/10 - Gamer Limit.
"An immediate purchase for fans of platformers."

4.5/5 - Modojo.
"One of the best games we've had the privilege of playing on Nintendo's handheld."

B+ (83/100) - Nintendojo.
"It’s refreshing to see a game that contains as much joy at the end as the beginning."

4.5/5 - Nintendo Gal.
"An addictively fun platforming title, with plenty of difficulty and enough content to ensure you’ll get your money’s worth."

9/10 - Destructoid.
"Pure platforming goodness."

9/10 - Nintendo Daily.
"Do yourself a favor and buy Mutant Mudds."

5/5 - Nintendo Fuse.
"Mutant Mudds is the best game on the eShop."

10/10 - Games Abyss.
"Perfect."

B+ (83/100) - The A.V. Club.
"Excellent precision-platformer challenges."

9/10 - GameZone.
"Superb platformer that every 3DS owner needs to experience."

B+ (83/100) - 1UP.
"A truly solid game."

I couldn't be happier with this kind of reception to the game. I'm excited that so many folks are enjoying it. Viva Nintendo eShop!